


; to happen upon a time ;

by Black



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, M/M, Multi, Violence, eventual NSFW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:30:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5490542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black/pseuds/Black
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>of time hopping and happiness. of the eventual heartbreak that follows again. and again. and again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. upon awaking

**Author's Note:**

> a human au between two pieces of undertale trash.  
> it's okay if you can't follow, just enjoy the ride.
> 
> toriel is also male in our au, so sorry i guess if you're not chill with that.

It's when Sans wakes,  
oh, it's when Sans wakes that the fear 

spears him through the gut with something 

cold,  
cold,  
cold. 

he's drenched with sweat and he can hear Papyrus snoring from the other room and his hands shake, oh they shake and he's texting Toriel -

his fingers won't cooperate and so he's calling him, teeth chattering in his mouth and his tongue sticks dryly to the roof of it and there's no answer but a voicemail. a cheery greeting, instructions to leave word after the beep. 

"it happened again," he says, "i was happy, Tori."  
a pause, a wheeze, "call me back when you wake up, it's urgent."

there's eyes that haunt his sleep.   
wide and wild and full of determination. 

Sans slips from bed and into the hall of the apartment, tip toeing into his brother's room and closing the door shut firmly behind him. security. Papyrus doesn't wake as he slips beneath the heavy comforter and presses into warm skin and lays awake for awhile

unsettled. 

time plays in rapid succession and he sees him, knife drawn, looming....looming.........

 

but sleeps again.


	2. of lingering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ;; the exhaustion is thick and choking but i am still here

"Dearest brother," the voice wakes him and he's foggy and disoriented, "are you alright?"

this is a fever dream.

it has to be.

he will awaken in bed next to - the sun will be shining and the birds will be singing and...no. no. this is real and his eyes burn with fever and stress. his head swims and his stomach turns. exhaustion nestles instead heavy in his bones his joints and soul and he's trying to recover from the rebirth the reawakening the -

sigh.

"I'm okay Pap," he says low and soft, tugging the blankets over his shoulders as he sinks further into the bed. away from his brother's ever concerned touch. 

Papyrus hums low, just barely convinced, but can tell Sans doesn't feel like arguing. "I'm going to be heading to Undyne's house later for a cooking lesson," there's fingers in his hair, "want me to bring back dinner?"

there's a haunting suspicion it'll be spaghetti.

Sans nods and closes his eyes again, his brother's words far, far away as he drifts off. when he opens his eyes later, the apartment is empty and his phone is littered with text messages from Toriel and Papyrus. The latter has sent him various pictures of food - Sans definitely isn't at all surprised to find that one of them is of the saucy, Italian variety.

the former....

"Sans," the voice is relieved when he finally calls, "I got your texts, I've been trying to call - "

silence - "have you been sleeping?"

Sans makes a small noise in the back of his throat, confirming Toriel's suspicions. "He came back again," Sans admits softly, "I held him off for as long as I could, and people escaped but..."

he can still feel it.

cold and unyielding, buried in his gut and tipping up and ripping -

"and here I am."

a sigh.

something heavy, something found. something lost.

"Rest," he says, "I will stop by tomorrow and we will talk further."

and there's a spike of something - a shuddering wheeze and he nearly drops the phone. his fingers spasm and his stomach lurches and he ends the call in agreement. his eyes linger on the TV that Papyrus must have left on. there's a familiar face - 

he turns it off.

and doesn't even wake when Papyrus returns with Undyne and works on destroying their kitchen (as if her own wasn't enough.)


	3. what morning brings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ;; my promises hold no weight, it's all on my shoulders now

Undyne is the first to greet him in the morning,

cup of coffee in hand with her baggy sweat pants loose tanktop and bedhead mohawk.  
the red is fading, roots of her hair tinted blonde tinted orange and she's smiling. 

"Hey punk," she melts into the chair across from him at the table, "you look like shit."

ah, Undyne.  
as blunt as ever. 

she pushes the cup of coffee towards him, not even bothering to flinch (or clean it up.....) as a little bit spills onto the wood. Sans smiles at her and takes the cup, sipping at it and holding back the urge to cringe. it's nearly black with only a couple spoonfuls of sugar, heaped in grit at the bottom. he gives thanks and rubs at his eyes, the sleep still thick and heavy in them. they sit in silence for awhile, Sans scanning the paper and Undyne scrolling through their phone before -

"Pap is worried about you," she says eventually, "said he woke up with you in his bed the other night." and then she scoffs, quietly, "what are you, like four? what scared you so damn bad you had to run to your brother?"

a half-assed smile.

"A bad dream."

Papyrus joins them next in a heap of noise, a song jumping from his lips badly sung as he cooks breakfast.  
thank god it's not spaghetti. 

there's a knock on the door and he is more than happy to excuse himself from the kitchen, finding it welcome but at the same time incredibly draining. so fucking draining and he nearly falls into Toriel's arms when he opens the door, smiling wide at the tight hug that immediately follows. 

"Tori," he breathes in near relief once he settles them on the living room couch, "it's so nice to see you." if there's one thing that's constant consistent it's Toriel and his soft smile. always. always. rooted. understanding. those hands on his face pulling him close is so grounding. all is settling. he is coming back down from the clouds. the high is tapering - fading.

it always does at this point.

"Tell me all," Toriel says and Sans can't bring himself to say a word at first, the dread something cold and vile in his chest but he tells him in hush and harsh whispers hidden under the chatter of the television. hands find his and he is greatful for their hold - he wheezes and closes his eyes. gathering himself before opening them again. his left eye fuzzy to come back into focus. "That...." Toriel sighs after mulling over his words for a good, few tense moments, "is troubling."

a promise.

again.

they both know there's little chance of him keeping it.

"I won't fail this time."


End file.
